The idea of internal auditing emerged in the thirties in the United States, and one of the primary reasons for this was the desire of American institutions to alleviate the burden of external audits upon themselves, as American legislation required all institutions dealing in financial markets to subject their accounts to external review for verification, and the role of internal auditing remained marginal at first, as internal auditors were formed into a unified organization in New York in 1941 and established the American Institute of Internal Auditors, which has worked since its inception to develop and organize this profession.

In today’s time, internal auditing has become highly important as an administrative tool that can be relied upon to rationalize the administrative process with its contemporary concept, having initially started with a narrow scope and area limited to reviewing restrictions and financial records, it subsequently shifted towards administrative and operational areas.

Definition of Internal Auditing:

Internal audit is an independent assessment function that arises to examine and evaluate all activities of the organization.

 

Nature of the Internal Audit Unit:

It is an administrative unit that directly follows and is linked to the Vice-President of the University, concerned with monitoring and internal control of performance in all colleges, faculties, centers and departments, especially those with an administrative and financial nature.

 

Systemic Referencing of Internal Auditing in Saudi Arabia:

The legal basis for establishing internal audit units in government agencies and public institutions dates back to Decree No. (235) of the Council of Ministers dated 8/20/1425H, which stated in its second paragraph, "establishing units for internal control in all entities covered by the supervision of the Supreme Audit Authority, whose head is linked to the responsible person in the agency."

As it also considers the Unified Regulation for Internal Review Units issued by Decree of the Council of Ministers No. (129) dated 6/4/1428H, as the main reference framework for internal review tasks and supervisory responsibilities.

 

Internal Audit Scope:

Most senior departments currently rely on the Internal Review function to strengthen their internal control systems. Given that the concept of the Internal Review function has become practiced in various parts of the organization without exception, and reviews all administrative, financial, and operational processes, it can be stated that the scope of Internal Audit does not only encompass the examination and evaluation of objective control systems to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in achieving objectives, but has also expanded to include assessing those objectives themselves.